Holidays are great fun. Vacations allow people to relax and reenergize themselves for the rigors of everyday life. But holidays are also meant for spending valuable time with friends and loved ones. People love driving to nearby vacation spots, with excited and joyous friends, with plenty of song and dance. But if you wish to have night-long parties with great music and unending fun, you need good drinks apart from good food. Rum drinks and whiskey drinks are the best party drinks, because of their strong taste, easy availability, and the “high” you feel after a few glasses. Grooving to the beat of a jazzy number or having the hottest women dance with you is much more exciting when you have had some whiskey or rum.

Some rum recipes are extremely popular around the world. Bacardi rum when topped with coke and ice and garnished with lime slice is known as Cuba libre and a favorite of many rum lovers. Rums made from key lime, like Mojito and Margarita rum, those made from peach mango, like Georgia mimosa and Georgia gimlet, and from Cranberry, are rums that are the most popular rums doing the rounds. However, if you prefer whiskey drinks to rum, Tennessee whiskey recipes are very famous.

If you prefer old-fashioned drinks, you can create a splendid whiskey cocktail. Just dissolve a small lump of sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass, add two dashes Angostura bitters, a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel, and one jigger whiskey. Mix with a small bar-spoon and drink.

Single malt whiskey is usually known as a “man’s drink.” There are several types of whiskey drinks which can be created using single malt whiskey. Whiskey Sour is a classic drink made by mixing 3 parts whiskey, 2 parts fresh lemon juice, and 1 part Gomme syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. It is further strained with maraschino cherry to give it a unique taste. Manhattan and Scotch whiskeys are also popular. If you like the Manhattan whiskey, you will also like Rob Roy, made from scotch, sweet vermouth, and bitters. It is stirred and strained into a Martini glass for best experience.

Since whiskey drinks come in such varieties, if you are a on a vacation at a new place, you will probably have to research a bit before you decide upon which whiskey to order or make. It is important to know the intricacies because American whiskey is different from Canadian whiskey; Scotch and Irish whiskeys are entirely different too. If your friends or colleagues are Scottish, they will make the same whiskey in a different way using different ingredients than an American or Canadian would. Differences exist in rums too. Some people prefer white rums, with subtle flavors, while some prefer amber or golden rums that are older. Dark rums and spiced rums are also popular in certain parts of the world. So you need to be careful to order or prepare the right whiskey or rum, and then you will have a great time holidaying.

In the United States, “rye whiskey” is, by law, made from a mash of at least 51 percent rye. (The other ingredients of the mash are usually corn and malted barley.) It is distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof, and aged in charred, new oak barrels. The whiskey must be put into such barrels at not more than 125 (U.S.) proof. Rye whiskey that has been so aged for at least 2 years may be further designated as “straight”, as in “straight rye whiskey”.

Rye whiskey was the prevalent whiskey of the northeastern states, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, but largely disappeared after Prohibition. A few brands, such as Old Overholt, survived it. Today Heaven Hill, Copper Fox, Jim Beam and Wild Turkey (among others) also produce rye whiskeys, as does a distillery at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, which sells a version of the rye Washington made. Rye is currently undergoing a small but growing revival in the United States.

Canadian rye whisky

Canadian whisky is often referred to as “rye whisky”, since historically much of the content was from rye. With no requirement for rye to be used to make whiskies with the legally-identical labels “Canadian Whisky”, “Canadian Rye Whisky” or “Rye Whisky” in Canada, provided they “possess the aroma, taste and character generally attributed to Canadian whisky”, in some cases the corn-to-rye ratio may be as high as 9:1. Most contemporary Canadian whiskies contain only a fraction of rye, with the exception of Alberta Premium which is one of the very few whiskies made from 100% rye mash.

In contrast with the US “straight rye whiskey” counterpart, a minimum of 3 years of small (700l/~185USG or less) wooden barrel aging is required for the “Canadian Whisky”, “Canadian Rye Whisky” and “Rye Whisky” labels, although they need not be new oak, nor charred.

Differences between rye and bourbon

Rye is known for imparting what many call a spicey or fruity flavor to the whiskey. Bourbon, distilled from at least 51% corn, is noticeably sweeter, and tends to be fuller bodied than rye. As bourbon gained popularity beyond the southern United States, bartenders increasingly substituted it for rye in cocktails like Whiskey Sours, Manhattans, and Old Fashioneds, which were initially made only with rye. All other things being equal, the character of the cocktail will be drier with rye.

American distillers

Approximately twenty US distilleries produce about forty different ryes. Among them is a single malt produced by the Anchor Brewery of San Francisco, known as Old Potrero Single Malt Whiskey, one of the few single malt whiskeys made in the United States.

Canadian distillers

Approximately a dozen Canadian distillers make rye whisky today. Only a few produce a whisky with majority rye content, most famously Alberta Distillers’ Alberta Premium and Alberta Springs, and Wiser’s Old Rye Whisky, long distilled on the shores of Lake Ontario. Popular international brands of Canadian whisky are Canadian Club and Crown Royal.

Specialties

“Rock and Rye” is the name of two distinct beverages: a citrus fruit flavored whiskey-based liqueur made from American rye bottled with a bit of rock candy (crystallized sugar); and a toddy made with rye whiskey, bitters, and rock candy.

Rye bottlings

American rye whiskey

Anchor Distilling Company

Old Potrero

Old Potrero 18th Century (100% rye mash, oak barrels are toasted rather than charred as for modern whiskey)

^ See, e.g. Wondrich, David, Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar, Perigee Books, 2007. (ISBN 978-0399532870) At page 241 Wondrich states, in giving the recipe for a Manhattan, that “[a]ll things being equal, a 100-proof rye will make the best Manhattan…”

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The roll-call of distilleries and brands which disappeared when the Irish industry imploded is an extensive one. Locke’s Kilbeggan (now revived under Cooley), Dundalk, Allman’s Bandon, Comber and Tullamore are just some of the famous and respected distillers who simply found it impossible to carry on, no matter how good people thought their whiskey was.

Most of the brands simply disappeared, the names of the distillers and their whiskeys slowly slipping into a vaguely remembered past. Some, however, managed to hang on. Tullamore Dew is one of them. It also represents a history of the Irish industry in miniature.

The Tullamore distillery was built in 1829 and was bequeathed to the Daly family in 1857. In 1887, Captain Daly-a man more interested in playing polo, hunting and racing horses – made Daniel E. Williams manager. Williams was a bit like an Irish Jack Daniel, having joined the plant at age 15 and speedily worked his way up to this lofty position. The fact that a country gentleman like Captain Daly was involved in making country whiskey is evidence of how wealthy landowners began to take over from farmer-distillers as the rural population declined and new laws were passed.

Williams expanded the distillery, began exporting and created a new triple distilled pot still brand, Tullamore Dew (the ‘Dew’ taken from his initials) which was sold with the slogan ‘Give Every man His Dew’. The quality of his 8-year-old whiskey even moved that normally crusty old historian Alfred Barnard to poetry. Eventually the Daly family sold their shares to the Williams’, but popular though it was, even they couldn’t keep the distillery running. In 1954, the Tullamore distillery closed.

It was a tough time for Irish whiskey. The government had, for reasons best know to itself, restricted exports of whiskey during the Second World War arguing that it would ensure ready supplies on the domestic market and continue to bring in guaranteed revenue. The UK government, on the other hand, had decided that while the whiskey industry was run down, some distilleries could stay open and exports should continue. It was a monumental blunder by the Irish. The distillers, meanwhile, were still holding firm to their belief that traditional pot still whiskey was superior to blended Scotch.

When the government raised taxes again in 1952 the writing was on the wall for distillers like the Williams’ of Tullamore. No way could the domestic market support so many brands. The Irish may be famous drinkers, but even that was beyond them. In 1953 a survey by the Irish Export Board discovered that 50 per cent of whiskey-drinkers in the States had never heard of Irish whiskey. Irish emigrants now saw themselves as Americans, they had turned their backs on the ‘ould country’.

Thankfully, Tullamore Dew was saved when the business was sold to Power’s in 1965 and the next year became part of the Irish Distillers portfolio. These days it is owned by Cantrell & Cochrane, though the whiskey is still made at Midleton. A classic blend of traditional pot still with light grain, it’s in the lighter end of the spectrum, though a 12-year-old version shows considerably more weight – probably from a higher percentage of pot still.

The overall lightness has endeared it to German and, more recently, American palates. People are interested in the brand once more and Cantrell & Cochrane has opened a heritage centre at the old Tullamore distillery site. All positive enough, but you can’t help but wonder, what if…

TASTING NOTES

● Tullamore Dew

On the lighter side of the Irish fence. Clean crisp and light, but not hugely exciting. * * Tullamore Dew 12-year-old So different from the standard bottling that you wonder initially if it is from the same stable. Ripe, fleshy and rich, this is the one to try. ***(*)

Jim Beam is one of the big names of bourbon, so there’s no surprise to find a big man behind it all. Booker Noe isn’t just physically huge, he is one of the foundation stones of the modern industry. Booker is Jim’s grandson and still lives in Jim’s old house in Bardstown.

Talk to him and you are tapping straight into the history of bourbon itself. Today, Jim Beam is the world’s biggest selling bourbon, but in 1934 things weren’t so rosy. Prohibition had been in force for 13 years, and there was no stock left. To start up again would be expensive and risky. But this didn’t deter Jim who, aged 70, built a new distillery in Clermont in just 120 days. What else could a Beam do? Whiskey making runs in their veins. After all, Booker’s great-great-great grandfather Jacob Beam started making whiskey commercially in 1795.

This was the distilling capital of the world before it was put out of business by the government,’ says Booker. ‘Why did he start it up again? Remember, he’d been in the whiskey business for 40 years before Prohibition. Beams have now been making bourbon for 205 years.’

Booker has now passed the reins to Jerry Dalton, the first non-Beam to be appointed master distiller. The fact that he lived in the house directly behind Booker’s is pure coincidence. ‘Well, even a blind hog finds an acorn every so often!’ he laughs. For all his modesty, Jerry is a highly respected distiller and, though reluctant to give away too many company secrets, will take you deep into the process.

There’s a sequence of special quirks at work in Beam’s two plants, but it’s yeast that Jerry zooms in on. For Scottish distillers, yeast is merely a catalyst that converts sugar to alcohol and CO2- However, for bourbon distillers it has almost mystical properties and each firm guards its own strain(s): Beam is still using the yeasts propagated by Jim in his kitchen in the 1930s.

‘Different yeasts produce different levels of fusel oil, which will ultimately have an effect on the flavour,’ Jerry explains. ‘In ageing, the fusel oils form esters with whatever acids are present. Each yeast will give different proportions of these fusel oils, so you get different flavour profiles.

When you combine the special yeasts with the higher-than-average percentage of backset (which produces what Jerry calls Beam’s ‘bold’ flavour), and the two-and-a-half times distillation (the vapour from the beer still passes through a thumper before being redistilled in the doubler) the signature Beam character is taking shape. But if Jim Beam White Label is the world’s best-known bourbon, it’s the firm’s small batch range which is rightly making waves. The four-strong selection is clear evidence of how complex a spirit bourbon can be, but the one closest to Booker’s heart, not surprisingly, is the one which he selects personally and which carries his name.

‘Booker’s is the only one that’s bottled at the same proof at which it went into the barrel,’ he says, with considerable relish. ‘It’s whiskey like it was a hundred years ago’. If the style hasn’t changed, the methods certainly have. Does today’s high-tech approach of distilling make Jerry less of an artist and more of a scientist? ‘I’m a bit of both,’ he says. ‘There’s an art to making bourbon that has evolved over two hundred years, but I’m also a scientist who wants to find better ways to control the process and preserve the mystery behind it all’.

The techniques may be space-age, but the small batch range signals a return to a time when bourbon meant big, bold and flavoursome whiskey. ‘People just kinda got away from flavour,’ muses Booker. ‘After Prohibition they cut the proof or blended it to make it go further. Now flavour’s coming back. The industry’s been badly beat up, but now it’s rolling again. It’ll be back now that people are tasting this super-good whiskey. Hell yes, bourbon’s back. TASTING NOTES

Like two peas in a pod of the luxury planet, cigars and whiskey can frequently be found together. The two identified as two of the finer issues in life, when utilized jointly, they work to improve the drinking and smoking expertise. This is particularly accurate when the drink being consumed is solitary malt scotch. Identified as the Cuban cigar of the whiskey planet, one malt scotch is the ideal drink to take out for a smoke.What is Single Malt Scotch?Although many individuals know what solitary malt scotch entails, some individuals might not be entirely clear. But, in actuality, the idea of solitary malt scotch is singularly easy: solitary malt scotch is essentially barely-malt whiskey created in Scotland that comes from only one distillery, permitting it to carry distinct aromas and flavors. In terms of whiskeys, solitary malt scotch is the most laudable: the Scottish have the title of world’s greatest whiskey in the bag…pipe.Why are Cigars a Great Fit with One Malt Scotch?Cigars and solitary malt scotch have similar mantras: they both invoke specifics of the land and the maker; tobacco plants and barley both aim to remember their roots. To demonstrate this, cigars from different regions have diverse flavors: a Dominican Republic tiparello will style various than a cigar from Honduras. This is simply because each cigar aims to capture the distinct taste of the land and of the tobacco manufacturer, leaving no two smokestick brands alike. Single Malt Scotch is the only kind of whiskey that possesses this exact same ability; giving drinkers a cup of originality.Some whiskeys journey through so several distilleries that they – like a whiskey that has drank too much of itself – forget who they are. This outcomes in a whiskey with flavors that are vague, with small semblance to the roots of their homeland. Single Malt Scotch, however, stands out due to the fact it is processed via a single distillery. In addition, although other whiskeys can include mixtures of corn, wheat, and unmalted barley, single malt scotch makes use of malted barely as the sole grain ingredient. This, ultimately, succeeds in instilling one malt scotch with the correct taste of Scotland.What Kinds of Cigars Compliment Single Malt Scotch?There are a variety of cigars that compliment particular whiskeys, as if telling them that they have good ryes. With one malt scotch, however, there are particular cigars for which this feat is tailor produced; there are particular cigars that go far better with one malt scotch than with almost something else.There are two primary routes to consider when complimenting single malt scotch. The 1st course adults a mild smokestick with a delicate one malt scotch although the other course partners a powerful smokestick with a powerful single malt scotch.Mild Cigar and Delicate Single MaltWhen pairing a mild smokestick with a gentle solitary malt, the outcome isn’t just a bunch of mildness: the gentle tiparello and mild one malt won’t trigger an urge to meditate among those who consume them. Instead, the mildness of every functions collectively to improve every other, resulting in a really unique expertise.A Highland Park solitary malt scotch and a La Flor Dominicana are examples of two items that go nicely with each other, tag teaming every single other to produce a truly luxurious expertise. Highland Park scotches are known for becoming easy, balanced, and stuffed with overtones of honey. A La Flor Dominicana is a gentle smokestick with something but gentle flavor, stuffed with the tastes of the Dominican Republic. When consumed with each other, a Highland Park and a La Flor Dominicana operate with each other to boost the expertise, drawing out the greatest attributes of the tobacco and the whiskey.Strong Tiparello and Sturdy Solitary MaltPairing collectively a sturdy tiparello with a powerful one malt may seem like asking for difficulty, as if every merchandise will attempt to be stronger than the other, in the end arm wrestling to see who has to pay the bar tab. Nonetheless powerful every merchandise is, when paired together, they really function with every other, complimenting every other’s strengths and erasing weaknesses.A great powerful scotch is the Lagavulin Single Malt. Characterized by peatiness and iodine overtones, the Lagavulin partners nicely with the Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970, a really complete bodied, robust smokestick. When this scotch and this cigar are consumed collectively, the outcome is a really flavorful, potent, and, above all, smoky encounter. For this cause, if this encounter could talk, it would sound like Beau Arthur.What Type of Cigars Distinction with Single Malt Scotch?On the other end of the spectrum, there are a range of cigars that contrast with one malt scotch, hitting heads to offset each other. Simply because these cigars and whiskeys have different attributes – putting the weak with the powerful and vice versa – it may possibly appear like these pairings will result in some sort of rivalry: the cigars and the scotch brawl, the fight ensuing till the cigars are crushed and the scotch tipped over. But, in actuality, the contrast operates rather well.There are two main routes to take when contrasting with solitary malt scotch. The initial direct couples a strong smokestick with a gentle solitary malt scotch while the other route adults a delicate smokestick with a powerful solitary malt scotch.Sturdy Tiparello and Delicate One MaltPairing with each other a powerful smokestick with a delicate single malt has the capability to acquire away from the pungency of the tiparello, arming the one malt with a tiny much more gusto. This results not in the smokestick losing its flavor, but in the scotch becoming enhanced. As each a total physique and mild entire body meet in the middle, the outcome is sure to please about anybody, whether they themselves are total or delicate..A extremely gentle single malt scotch is a Dalwhinnie. Recognized for becoming slightly peaty and very aromatic, the Dalwhinnie is about as clean as they come. It’s full of sweet taste and tastes a bit like it’s coated in honey. A Dalwhinnie goes perfectly with a La Aurora 100 Anos. Produced from very unusual Corjo tobacco, these cigars are total of taste and body. When taken together, the Dalwhinnie and La Aurora function to provide an expertise that is powerful and gentle in all the correct areas.Delicate Smokestick and Powerful Solitary MaltA mild smokestick can use a good powerful single malt, a powerful drink that can supply enhancement, smoothness, and open the humidor when the lid’s on as well tight. Like pairing a powerful cigar with a mild single malt, the attributes of both enhance every single other, like opposites that attract, pulling the very best characteristics out.The Laphroaig one malt scotch is among the strongest flavored scotches around. While these are usually aged for ten years, some rare ones are as old as 40. While some people have found that the peaty aroma of the whiskey is enhanced by adding a bit of water, other people find that it is enhanced by smoking a Macanudo. Macanudo cigars might as nicely be synonymous with the word “mellow” as they fill the smoker with a sense of smoothing calm. When consumed together, the Laphroaig and the Macanudo work collectively to supply the consumer with a mellow peatiness.Overall, these two things go collectively as nicely as any dynamic duo: Laurel and Hardy, Laverne and Shirley, Cigar and Single Malt. Whilst some cigars complement solitary malt scotch, others distinction with it. But, the two equations equal satisfaction. Allowing the correct flavors of each other’s lands, cigars and scotch one malt operate to bring collectively the best of all cultures involved, leaving the world a little smaller, and a small much more luxurious.